Month: March 2016

NOTE TO THE READER: Words and sentences within this type of brackets [ ] are not part of the original article!

And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land.– Ezekiel 34/29

THE REAL REASON CANNABIS HAS BEEN OUTLAWED HAS NOTHING
TO DO WITH ITS EFFECTS ON THE MIND AND BODY.

MARIJUANA is DANGEROUS.

Pot is NOT harmful to the human body or mind. Marijuana does NOT pose a threat to the general public. Marijuana is very much a danger to the oil companies, alcohol, tobacco industries and a large number of chemical corporations. Various big businesses, with plenty of dollars and influence, have suppressed the truth from the people.

The truth is if marijuana was utilized for its vast array of commercial products, it would create an industrial atomic bomb! Entrepreneurs have not been educated on the product potential of pot. The super rich have conspired to spread misinformation about an extremely versatile plant that, if used properly, would ruin their companies.

Where did the word ‘marijuana’ come from? In the mid 1930s, the M-word was created to tarnish the good image and phenomenal history of the hemp plant…as you will read. The facts cited here, with references, are generally verifiable in the Encyclopedia Britannica which was printed on hemp paper for 150 years:

* All schoolbooks were made from hemp or flax paper until the 1880s; Hemp Paper Reconsidered, Jack Frazier, 1974.

* It was LEGAL TO PAY TAXES WITH HEMP in America from 1631 until the early 1800s; LA Times, Aug. 12, 1981.

* REFUSING TO GROW HEMP in America during the 17th and 18th Centuries WAS AGAINST THE LAW! You could be jailed in Virginia for refusing to grow hemp from 1763 to 1769; Hemp in Colonial Virginia, G. M. Herdon.

* George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and other founding fathers GREW HEMP; Washington and Jefferson Diaries. Jefferson smuggled hemp seeds from China to France then to America.

* Benjamin Franklin owned one of the first paper mills in America and it processed hemp. Also, the War of 1812 was fought over hemp. Napoleon wanted to cut off Moscow’s export to England; Emperor Wears No Clothes, Jack Herer.

* For thousands of years, 90% of all ships’ sails and rope were made from hemp. The word ‘canvas’ is Dutch for cannabis; Webster’s New World Dictionary.

* 80% of all textiles, fabrics, clothes, linen, drapes, bed sheets, etc. were made from hemp until the 1820s with the introduction of the cotton gin.

* The first Bibles, maps, charts, Betsy Ross’s flag, the first drafts of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were made from hemp; U.S. Government Archives.

* The first crop grown in many states was hemp. 1850 was a peak year for Kentucky producing 40,000 tons. Hemp was the largest cash crop until the 20th Century; State Archives.

* Oldest known records of hemp farming go back 5000 years in China, although hemp industrialization probably goes back to ancient Egypt.

* Rembrants, Gainsboroughs, Van Goghs as well as most early canvas paintings were principally painted on hemp linen.

* In 1916, the U.S. Government predicted that by the 1940s all paper would come from hemp and that no more trees need to be cut down. Government studies report that 1 acre of hemp equals 4.1 acres of trees. Plans were in the works to implement such programs; Department of Agriculture

* Quality paints and varnishes were made from hemp seed oil until 1937. 58,000 tons of hemp seeds were used in America for paint products in 1935; Sherman Williams Paint Co. testimony before Congress against the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act.

* Henry Ford’s first Model-T was built to run on hemp gasoline and the CAR ITSELF WAS CONTRUCTED FROM HEMP! On his large estate, Ford was photographed among his hemp fields. The car, ‘grown from the soil,’ had hemp plastic panels whose impact strength was 10 times stronger than steel; Popular Mechanics, 1941.

* Hemp called ‘Billion Dollar Crop.’ It was the first time a cash crop had a business potential to exceed a billion dollars; Popular Mechanics, Feb., 1938.

* Mechanical Engineering Magazine (Feb. 1938) published an article entitled ‘The Most Profitable and Desirable Crop that Can be Grown.’ It stated that if hemp was cultivated using 20th Century technology, it would be the single largest agricultural crop in the U.S. and the rest of the world.

The following information comes directly from the United States Department of Agriculture’s 1942 14-minute film encouraging and instructing ‘patriotic American farmers’ to grow 350,000 acres of hemp each year for the war effort:

‘…(When) Grecian temples were new, hemp was already old in the service of mankind. For thousands of years, even then, this plant had been grown for cordage and cloth in China and elsewhere in the East. For centuries prior to about 1850, all the ships that sailed the western seas were rigged with hempen rope and sails. For the sailor, no less than the hangman, hemp was indispensable…

…Now with Philippine and East Indian sources of hemp in the hands of the Japanese…American hemp must meet the needs of our Army and Navy as well as of our industries…

…the Navy’s rapidly dwindling reserves. When that is gone, American hemp will go on duty again; hemp for mooring ships; hemp for tow lines; hemp for tackle and gear; hemp for countless naval uses both on ship and shore. Just as in the days when Old Ironsides sailed the seas victorious with her hempen shrouds and hempen sails. Hemp for victory!’

Certified proof from the Library of Congress; found by the research of Jack Herer, refuting claims of other government agencies that the 1942 USDA film ‘Hemp for Victory’ did not exist.

Hemp cultivation and production do not harm the environment. The USDA Bulletin #404 concluded that hemp produces 4 times as much pulp with at least 4 to 7 times less pollution. From Popular Mechanics, Feb. 1938:

‘It has a short growing season…It can be grown in any state…The long roots penetrate and break the soil to leave it in perfect condition for the next year’s crop. The dense shock of leaves, 8 to 12 feet above the ground, chokes out weeds.
…hemp, this new crop can add immeasurably to American agriculture and industry.’

In the 1930s, innovations in farm machinery would have caused an industrial revolution when applied to hemp. This single resource could have created millions of new jobs generating thousands of quality products. Hemp, if not made illegal, would have brought America out of the Great Depression.

William Randolph Hearst (Citizen Kane) and the Hearst Paper Manufacturing Division of Kimberly Clark owned vast acreage of timberlands. The Hearst Company supplied most paper products. Patty Hearst’s grandfather, a destroyer of nature for his own personal profit, stood to lose billions because of hemp.

In 1937, Dupont patented the processes to make plastics from oil and coal. Dupont’s Annual Report urged stockholders to invest in its new petrochemical division. Synthetics such as plastics, cellophane, celluloid, methanol, nylon, rayon, Dacron, etc., could now be made from oil. Natural hemp industrialization would have ruined over 80% of Dupont’s business.THE CONSPIRACY

Andrew Mellon became Hoover’s Secretary of the Treasury and Dupont’s primary investor. He appointed his future nephew-in-law, Harry J. Anslinger, to head the Federal Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs.

Secret meetings were held by these financial tycoons. Hemp was declared dangerous and a threat to their billion dollar enterprises. For their dynasties to remain intact, hemp had to go. These men took an obscure Mexican slang word: ‘marihuana’ and pushed it into the consciousness of America.MEDIA MANIPULATION

A media blitz of ‘yellow journalism’ raged in the late 1920s and 1930s. Hearst’s newspapers ran stories emphasizing the horrors of marihuana. The menace of marihuana made headlines. Readers learned that it was responsible for everything from car accidents to loose morality.

Films like ‘Reefer Madness’ (1936), ‘Marihuana: Assassin of Youth’ (1935) and ‘Marihuana: The Devil’s Weed’ (1936) were propaganda designed by these industrialists to create an enemy. Their purpose was to gain public support so that anti-marihuana laws could be passed.

under the influence of the drug he killed his entire family with an ax.

more vicious, more deadly even than these soul-destroying drugs (heroin, cocaine) is the menace of marihuana!

Reefer Madness did not end with the usual ‘the end.’ The film concluded with these words plastered on the screen: TELL YOUR CHILDREN.

In the 1930s, people were very naive; even to the point of ignorance. The masses were like sheep waiting to be led by the few in power. They did not challenge authority. If the news was in print or on the radio, they believed it had to be true. They told their children and their children grew up to be the parents of the baby-boomers.

On April 14, 1937, the Prohibitive Marihuana Tax Law or the bill that outlawed hemp was directly brought to the House Ways and Means Committee. This committee is the only one that can introduce a bill to the House floor without it being debated by other committees. The Chairman of the Ways and Means, Robert Doughton, was a Dupont supporter. He insured that the bill would pass Congress.

Dr. James Woodward, a physician and attorney, testified too late on behalf of the American Medical Association. He told the committee that the reason the AMA had not denounced the Marihuana Tax Law sooner was that the Association had just discovered that marihuana was hemp.

Few people, at the time, realized that the deadly menace they had been reading about on Hearst’s front pages was in fact passive hemp. The AMA understood cannabis to be a MEDICINE found in numerous healing products sold over the last hundred years.

In September of 1937, hemp became illegal. The most useful crop known became a drug and our planet has been suffering ever since.

Congress banned hemp because it was said to be the most violence-causing drug known. Anslinger, head of the Drug Commission for 31 years, promoted the idea that marihuana made users act extremely violent. In the 1950s, under the Communist threat of McCarthyism, Anslinger now said the exact opposite. Marijuana will pacify you so much that soldiers would not want to fight.
Today, our planet is in desperate trouble. Earth is suffocating as large tracts of rain forests disappear. Pollution, poisons and chemicals are killing people. These great problems could be reversed if we industrialized hemp. Natural biomass could provide all of the planet’s energy needs that are currently supplied by fossil fuels. We have consumed 80% of our oil and gas reserves. We need a renewable resource. Hemp could be the solution to soaring gas prices.

THE WONDER PLANT

Hemp has a higher quality fiber than wood fiber. Far fewer caustic chemicals are required to make paper from hemp than from trees. Hemp paper does not turn yellow and is very durable. The plant grows quickly to maturity in a season where trees take a lifetime.

ALL PLASTIC PRODUCTS SHOULD BE MADE FROM HEMP SEED OIL. Hempen plastics are biodegradable! Over time, they would break down and not harm the environment. Oil-based plastics, the ones we are very familiar with, help ruin nature; they do not break down and will do great harm in the future. The process to produce the vast array of natural (hempen) plastics will not ruin the rivers as Dupont and other petrochemical companies have done. Ecology does not fit in with the plans of the Oil Industry and the political machine. Hemp products are safe and natural.

MEDICINES SHOULD BE MADE FROM HEMP. We should go back to the days when the AMA supported cannabis cures. ‘Medical Marijuana’ is given out legally to only a handful of people while the rest of us are forced into a system that relies on chemicals. Pot is only healthy for the human body.

WORLD HUNGER COULD END. A large variety of food products can be generated from hemp. The seeds contain one of the highest sources of protein in nature. ALSO: They have two essential fatty acids that clean your body of cholesterol. These essential fatty acids are not found anywhere else in nature! Consuming pot seeds is the best thing you could do for your body. Eat uncooked hemp seeds.

CLOTHES SHOULD BE MADE FROM HEMP. Hemp clothing is extremely strong and durable over time. You could hand clothing, made from pot, down to your grandchildren. Today, there are American companies that make hemp clothing; usually 50% hemp. Hemp fabrics should be everywhere. Instead, they are almost underground. Superior hemp products are not allowed to advertise on fascist television. Kentucky, once the top hemp producing state, made it ILLEGAL TO WEAR hemp clothing! Can you imagine being thrown into jail for wearing quality jeans?

The world is crazy…but that does not mean you have to join the insanity. Get together. Spread the news. Tell people, and that includes your children, the truth. Use hemp products. Eliminate the word ‘marijuana.’ Realize the history that created it. Make it politically incorrect to say or print the M-word. Fight against the propaganda (designed to favor the agenda of the super rich) and the bullshit. Hemp must be utilized in the future. We need a clean energy source to save our planet. INDUSTRIALIZE HEMP!

The liquor, tobacco and oil companies fund more than a million dollars a day to Partnership for a Drug-Free America and other similar agencies. We have all seen their commercials. Now, their motto is: ‘It’s more dangerous than we thought.’ Lies from the powerful corporations, that began with Hearst, are still alive and well today.

The brainwashing continues. Now, the commercials say: If you buy a joint, you contribute to murders and gang wars. The latest anti-pot commercials say: If you buy a joint…you are promoting TERRORISM! The new enemy (terrorism) has paved the road to brainwash you any way THEY see fit.

There is only one enemy; the friendly people you pay your taxes to; the war-makers and nature destroyers. With your funding, they are killing the world right in front of your eyes. HALF A MILLION DEATHS EACH YEAR ARE CAUSED BY TOBACCO. HALF A MILLION DEATHS EACH YEAR ARE CAUSED BY ALCOHOL. NO ONE HAS EVER, EVER DIED FROM SMOKING POT!! In the entire history of the human race, not one death can be attributed to cannabis. Our society has outlawed grass but condones the use of the KILLERS: TOBACCO and ALCOHOL. Hemp should be declassified and placed in DRUG stores to relieve stress. Hardening and constriction of the arteries are bad; but hemp usage actually enlarges the arteries…which is a healthy condition. We have been so conditioned to think that: Smoking is harmful. That is NOT the case for passive pot.

Ingesting THC, hemp’s active agent, has a positive effect; relieving asthma and glaucoma. A joint tends to alleviate the nausea caused by chemotherapy. You are able to eat on hemp. This is a healthy state of being.

(One personal note: During the pregnancy of my wife, she was having some difficulty gaining weight. We were in the hospital. A nurse called us to one side and said: ‘Off the record, if you smoke pot…you’d get something called the munchies and you’ll gain weight.’ I swear that is a true story). [Using Medifast coupons to counteract the results of the weight gain later on is a different story.]

The stereotype for a pothead is similar to a drunk, bubble-brain. Yet, the truth is one’s creative abilities can be enhanced under its influence. The perception of time slightly slows and one can become more sensitive. You can more appreciate all arts; be closer to nature and generally FEEL more under the influence of cannabis. It is, in fact, the exact opposite state of mind and body as the drunken state. You can be more aware with pot.

The pot plant is an ALIEN plant. There is physical evidence that cannabis is not like any other plant on this planet. One could conclude that it was brought here for the benefit of humanity. Hemp is the ONLY plant where the males appear one way and the females appear very different, physically! No one ever speaks of males and females in regard to the plant kingdom because plants do not show their sexes; except for cannabis. To determine what sex a certain, normal, Earthly plant is: You have to look internally, at its DNA. A male blade of grass (physically) looks exactly like a female blade of grass. The hemp plant has an intense sexuallity. Growers know to kill the males before they fertilize the females. Yes, folks…the most potent pot comes from ‘horny females.’

The reason this amazing, very sophisticated, ET plant from the future is illegal has nothing to do with how it physically affects us…..

…POT IS ILLEGAL BECAUSE BILLIONAIRES WANT TO REMAIN BILLIONAIRES!

ps: I think the word ‘DRUGS’ should not be used as an umbrella-word that covers all chemical agents. Drugs have come to be known as something BAD. Are you aware there are LEGAL drugstores?! Yep, in every city. Unbelievable. Each so-called drug should be considered individually. Cannabis is a medicine and not a drug. We should DARE to speak the TRUTH no matter what the law is.

Don’t you wish there was a place you could go and learn about the cannabis/hemp plant that had links and access prepared for you to start learning about the most valuable resource Yahweh put on this earth(arguably, other than humans)?

Basic Data and Uses

1. (Description and Uses of Hemp Hurds, Bast Fibers, and Seed Oil) “Industrial hemp can be grown as a fiber, seed, or dual-purpose crop.14 The interior of the stalk has short woody fibers called hurds; the outer portion has long bast fibers. Hemp seed/grains are smooth and about one-eighth to one-fourth of an inch long.15
“Although hemp is not grown in the United States, both finished hemp products and raw material inputs are imported and sold for use in manufacturing for a wide range of product categories (Figure 2). Hemp fibers are used in a wide range of products, including fabrics and textiles, yarns and spun fibers, paper, carpeting, home furnishings, construction and insulation materials, auto parts, and composites. Hurds are used in various applications such as animal bedding, material inputs, papermaking, and composites. Hemp seed and oilcake are used in a range of foods and beverages, and can be an alternative food protein source. Oil from the crushed hemp seed is used as an ingredient in a range of body-care products and nutritional supplements.16 Hemp seed is also used for industrial oils, cosmetics and personal care products, and pharmaceuticals, among other composites.”

2. (Estimated Retail US Hemp Market Size and Value) “There is no official estimate of the value of U.S. sales of hemp-based products. The Hemp Industries Association (HIA) estimates that the total U.S. retail value of hemp products in 2012 was nearly $500 million, which includes food and body products, clothing, auto parts, building materials and other products.20 Of this, HIA reports that the value of hemp-based food, supplements, and body care sales in the United States is about $156 million to $171 million annually. Previous reports about the size of the U.S. market for hemp clothing and textiles is estimated at about $100 million annually.21
“The reported retail value of the U.S. hemp market is an estimate and is difficult to verify. Underlying data for this estimate are from SPINS survey data;22 however, because the data reportedly do not track retail sales for The Body Shop and Whole Foods Market—two major markets for hemp-based products—as well as for restaurants, hemp industry analysts have adjusted these upward to account for this gap in the reported survey data.23
“Available industry information indicates that sales of some hemp-based products, such as foods and body care products, is growing.24 Growth in hemp specialty food products is driven, in part, by sales of hemp milk and related dairy alternatives, among other hemp-based foods.25
“Information is not available on other potential U.S. hemp-based sectors, such as for use in construction materials or biofuels, paper, and other manufacturing uses. Data are not available on existing businesses or processing facilities that may presently be engaged in such activities within the United States.”

3. (Restrictions Against Federal Interference With State-Authorized Hemp Production Pilot Programs) The federal budget bill for FY2015 contains this provision:
“SEC. 539. None of the funds made available by this Act may be used in contravention of section 7606 (‘Legitimacy of Industrial Hemp Research’) of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (Public Law 113–79) by the Department of Justice or the Drug Enforcement Administration.”

4. (Hemp vs. Marijuana) “There are many different varieties of cannabis plants. Marijuana and hemp come from the same species of plant, Cannabis sativa, but from different varieties or cultivars. However, hemp is genetically different and is distinguished by its use and chemical makeup, as well as by differing cultivation practices in its production.2
“Hemp, also called ‘industrial hemp,’3 refers to cannabis varieties that are primarily grown as an agricultural crop (such as seeds and fiber, and byproducts such as oil, seed cake, hurds) and is characterized by plants that are low in THC (delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol, marijuana’s Marijuana refers to the flowering tops and leaves of psychoactive cannabis varieties, which are grown for their high content of THC. Marijuana’s high THC content is primarily in the flowering tops and to a lesser extent in the leaves. THC levels for marijuana are much higher than for hemp, and are reported to average about 10%; some sample tests indicate THC levels reaching 20%-30%, or greater.4
“A level of about 1% THC is considered the threshold for cannabis to have a psychotropic effect or an intoxicating potential.5 Current laws regulating hemp cultivation in the European Union (EU) and Canada use 0.3% THC as the dividing line between industrial and potentially drug-producing cannabis. Cultivars having less than 0.3% THC can be cultivated under license, while cultivars having more than that amount are considered to have too high a drug potential.6
“Some also claim that industrial hemp has higher levels of cannabidiol (CBD), the non-psychoactive part of marijuana, which might mitigate some of the effects of THC.7 A high ratio of CBD to THC might also classify hemp as a fiber-type plant rather than a drug-type plant. However, opinions are still mixed about how CBD levels might influence the psychoactive effects of THC.”

5. (US Hemp Imports) “The import value of hemp-based products imported and sold in the United States is difficult to estimate accurately. For some traded products, available statistics have only limited breakouts or have been expanded only recently to capture hemp subcategories within the broader trade categories for oilseeds and fibers. Reporting errors are evident in some of the trade data, since reported export data for hemp from Canada do not consistently match reported U.S. import data for the same products (especially for hemp seeds).
“Given these data limitations, available trade statistics indicate that the value of U.S. imports under categories actually labeled “hemp,” such as hemp seeds and fibers, which are more often used as inputs for use in further manufacturing, was nearly $11.5 million in 2011. Compared to available data for 2007, the value of imported hemp products for use as inputs and ingredients has more than doubled. However, import volumes for other products such as hemp oil and fabrics are lower (Table 1). Trade data are not available for finished products, such as hemp-based clothing or other products including construction materials, carpets, or hemp-based paper products.”

6. (Cross Pollination of Drug-Crop Cannabis With Industrial Hemp During Cultivation“Hemp fields, in fact, could be a deterrent to marijuana growers. A strong case can be made that the best way to reduce the THC level of marijuana grown outdoors would be to grow industrial hemp near it. An experiment in Russia found that hemp pollen could travel 12 kilometers. This would mean that a hemp field would create a zone with a 12-kilometer radius within which no marijuana grower would want to establish a crop.
“The reciprocal also applies. Growers of hemp seed would not want Cannabis of an ‘off type’ (i.e., not the intended genetic type) mixing its pollen with their flowers. The isolation of genotypes is a common procedure used by the seed industry to preserve the genetic integrity of varieties. Valued strains are created by plant breeding, at substantial expense. Marijuana pollen would destroy this value.”

7. (Hemp Bast Fibres) “Hemp bast fibres are among the strongest and most durable of natural fibres, with high tensile strength, wet strength, and other characteristics favourable for various industrial products. It has been estimated that hemp produces three to four times as much useable fibre per acre per year as forests, and the bast fibre contains a low amount of lignin (the natural polymer that binds plant cells together), which allows it to be bleached without the use of chlorine. Hemp bast fibre is used in the production of a wide range of products where its strength and durability are advantageous, including cordage (rope, twine, etc.), specialty papers, fabrics for clothing and other applications, and industrial textiles such as geotextiles and carpeting. The strength of hemp fibre also makes it ideal for use in a range of composites for applications such as moulded car parts and fibreboard for construction.”

8. (Production Differences Between Hemp and Marijuana) “Production differences depend on whether the cannabis plant is grown for fiber/oilseed or for medicinal/recreational uses. These differences involve the varieties being grown, the methods used to grow them, and the timing of their harvest (see discussion in ‘Hemp’ and ‘Marijuana,’ below). Concerns about cross-pollination among the different varieties are critical. All cannabis plants are open, wind and/or insect pollinated, and thus cross-pollination is possible.
“Because of the compositional differences between the drug and fiber varieties of cannabis, farmers growing either crop would necessarily want to separate production of the different varieties or cultivars. This is particularly true for growers of medicinal or recreational marijuana in an effort to avoid cross-pollination with industrial hemp, which would significantly lower the THC content and thus degrade the value of the marijuana crop. Likewise, growers of industrial hemp would seek to avoid cross-pollination with marijuana plants, especially given the illegal status of marijuana. Plants grown of oilseed are also marketed according to the purity of the product, and the mixing of off-type genotypes would degrade the value of the crop.8
“The different cannabis varieties are also harvested at different times (depending on the growing area), increasing the chance of detection of illegal marijuana, if production is commingled. Because of these differences, many claim that drug varieties of cannabis cannot easily be grown with oilseed or fiber varieties without being easily detected.9 As discussed below, among the visual plant differences are plant height (hemp is encouraged to grow tall, whereas marijuana is selected to grow short and tightly clustered); cultivation (hemp is grown as a single main stalk with few leaves and branches, whereas marijuana is encouraged to become bushy with many leaves and branches to promote flowers and buds); and planting density (hemp is densely planted to discourage branching and flowering, whereas marijuana plants are well-spaced).”

9. (Hemp Hurds) “Hemp hurd is composed of cellulose-rich, short fibres, and make up approximately 75% of the hemp stalk. They are spongy and absorbent, ideal characteristics in applications such as animal bedding and industrial absorbents. They may also be used to produce low-quality paper. More recently, hemp hurd has been used to produce a concrete-like substance for use in building applications, as well as for insulation and to produce fibreboard.”

10. (Hemp Stalks) “The whole hemp stalk can also be used to produce various biofuels such as bio-oil (or pyrolytic liquid), cellulosic ethanol, syngas (synthetic gas) and methane. Alternatively, the bast fibre can first be removed for use in high-value fibre applications, and the remaining hurd can then be processed into biofuel. The processes by which hemp is converted to biofuels may also produce valuable chemicals and other materials as bi-products.”

11. (Hemp Oil) “Hemp oil is extremely nutritious, and is used in foods and nutraceutical products for humans and animals, as well as in personal care products. Hemp oil is also suitable for use in industrial products such as paints, varnishes, inks and industrial lubricants, and can be used to produce biodiesel. The crushed seed meal left over from oil production is frequently used for animal feed.”

12. (Hemp vs. Marijuana) “Hemp is grown quite differently from marijuana. Moreover, it is harvested at a different time than marijuana. Finally, cross-pollination between hemp plants and marijuana plants would significantly reduce the potency of the marijuana plant.”

13. (Hemp Cultivation in EU) “The survey covers the harvest of 2010, related to a total cultivation area of 10,480 ha and 14 Hemp processing companies, as well as two associations of Hemp processing companies. In the official EU statistics 10,617 ha are shown for the cultivation year 2010 – that would mean that the survey covers 98.7% of the EU cultivation area. The first figure shows the development of the cultivation area since 1993. Between 1993 and 1996 the cultivation of industrial Hemp was legalised in most of the member states, some followed later. In 2011 the cultivation area decreased to its lowest value since 1994 (ca. 8,000 ha), but increased in 2012 again to 14,000 ha. That means that the Hemp cultivation area in the EU over the last ten years was between 10,000 and 15,000 ha, except 2003 (18,000 ha) and 2011 (8,000 ha). The main cultivation member states are France, The UK and The Netherlands. Since 2011 Hemp cultivation in Germany has virtually ceased because the main processor moved to France due to strong land competition from highly supported bioenergy and biofuel crops in Germany.
“From the existing processing capacity the cultivation area could be extended to at least 20,000 ha without additional investment. This means that an increasing demand could easily be covered.”

14. (Hemp and THC) According to David West, PhD, “The THC levels in industrial hemp are so low that no one could ever get high from smoking it. Moreover, hemp contains a relatively high percentage of another cannabinoid, CBD, that actually blocks the marijuana high. Hemp, it turns out, is not only not marijuana; it could be called ‘antimarijuana.’”

15. (Possibility of Positive THC Test Through Exposure to Hemp Products) “Results of the hemp products tested indicate the amount of THC present in commercially available products is significantly less in products available today than those reported in the past (15-22). As a result, the probability that these products will produce urine THC metabolite levels greater than the DoD and HHS confirmation cutoff of 15 ng/mL is significantly reduced and should not be considered as a realistic cause for a positive urine analysis result.”

16. (Hemp and Detection of THC Through Urinalysis) “Hemp seeds represent the manufacturing starting point for the vast majority of hemp products marketed since the mid-1990s. Hemp seeds are a good source of essential fatty acids, primarily alpha-linolenic acid (omega-3) and ]linoleic acid (omega-6). They are also found in fish, flaxseed, rapeseed oil, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds. Essential fatty acids (EFA) are necessary fats that humans cannot synthesize, so they must be obtained through diet. EFAs support the cardiovascular, reproductive,immune, and nervous systems. The human body needs EFAs to manufacture and repair cell membranes, enabling the cells to obtain optimum nutrition and expel harmful waste products (9). THC found in manufactured products is present via contamination from resin produced in the leaves and buds that come into contact with the seed shell. Seed decontamination and manufacturing processes including wash steps and cold pressing for hemp products have improved since the mid-1990s, leading to the much lower THC concentrations currently found in today’s commercial products.
“The presence of THC in these products has been a source of concern for the military and other workplace drug-testing programs. Ingestion of hemp products has been historically used as a defense in military and civilian trials for many years and continues today despite decreased concentrations of THC in hemp products (10-12). The Division of Forensic Toxicology, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology is often asked to analyze hemp products to determine their THC content in addition to rendering an opinion as to whether or not this THC concentration could be a reasonable cause for a positive THC metabolite urine analysis result.”

17. (Sources of Hemp Imported to the US) “The single largest supplier of U.S. imports of raw and processed hemp fiber is China. Other leading country suppliers include Romania, Hungary, India, and other European countries. The single largest source of U.S. imports of hemp seed and oilcake is Canada. The total value of Canada’s exports of hemp seed to the United States has grown significantly in recent years following resolution of a long-standing legal dispute over U.S. imports of hemp foods in late 2004 (see “Dispute over Hemp Food Imports (1999-2004)”). European countries such as the United Kingdom and Switzerland also have supplied hemp seed and oilcake to the United States.”

18. (Hemp Oil and Dermatitis) “Skin dryness and itchiness, in particular, are very serious problems in atopic dermatitis, which often lead to additional complications, such as opportunistic infections. In any event, it seems that the reduction of atopic symptomology observed in this study is a direct result of ingested hempseed oil. These preliminary results confirm anecdotal observations of improved skin quality after ingesting modest amounts of hempseed oil on a daily basis over a relatively short period of time.”

19. (Advantages of Hemp Versus Hydrocarbon-Based Products) “Comparisons of industrial hemp to hydrocarbon or other conventional industrial feedstocks show that, generally, hemp requires substantially less energy for manufacturing, often is suited to less-toxic means of processing, and provides competitive product performance (especially in terms of durability, light weight, and strength), greater recyclability and/or biodegradability, and a number of value-added applications for byproducts and waste materials at either end of the product life cycle.”

20. (Estimate of Hemp Market in the US in 2000) “No data are available on imports of hemp seed and oil into the United States, but data do exist on hemp fiber, yarn, and fabrics. Imports of raw hemp fiber have increased dramatically in the last few years, rising from less than 500 pounds in 1994 to over 1.5 million pounds for the first 9 months of 1999. Yarn imports also have risen substantially, peaking at slightly less than 625,000 pounds in 1997. The switch from yarn to raw fiber in the last 2 years probably reflects the development of U.S. spinning capacity. At least two companies are now spinning hemp yarn from imported fibers. Imports of hemp fabric have more than doubled from over 222,000 pounds in 1995 to about 523,000 pounds in 1998.
“Current markets for bast fibers like industrial hemp include specialty textiles, paper, and composites. Hemp hurds are used in various applications such as animal bedding, composites, and low-quality papers. As joint products, finding viable markets for both hemp bast fiber and hurds may increase the chances of a successful business venture.”

21. (Hemp and Nutrition) “The quality of an oil or fat is most importantly determined by its fatty acid composition. Hemp is of high nutritional quality because it contains high amounts of unsaturated fatty acids, mostly oleic acid (C18:1, 10%–16%), linoleic acid (C18:2, 50%–60%), alpha-linolenic acid (C18:3, 20%–25%), and gammalinolenic acid (C18:3, 2%–5%) (Fig. 37). Linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid are the only two fatty acids that must be ingested and are considered essential to human health (Callaway 1998). In contrast to shorter-chain and more saturated fatty acids, these essential fatty acids do not serve as energy sources, but as raw materials for cell structure and as precursors for biosynthesis for many of the body’s regulatory biochemicals.”

Source:
Small, Ernest and Marcus, David , “Hemp: A New Crop with New Uses for North America,” Trends in New Crops and New Uses (West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University Center for New Crops and Plant Products, 2002), p. 306.http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/ncnu02/pdf/small.pdf

22. (Estimated Potential US Retail Hemp Market) “Retail sales of imported hemp products exceeded $70 million in the United States in 2006.62 Given hemp’s wide-ranging utility, supporters of domestic cultivation estimate that it would create a $300 million dollar industry.63”

23. (Potential Economic Benefits, Kentucky 1998) In a July 1998 study issued by the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Kentucky, researchers estimated that if Kentucky again became the main source for industrial hemp seed (as it was in the past), the state could earn the following economic benefits:

24. (Potential Economic Benefits, Kentucky 1998) In a July 1998 study issued by the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Kentucky, researchers concluded that Kentucky hemp farmers could earn a net profit of $600 per acre for raising certified seeds, $320 net profit per acre for straw only or straw and grain production, and $220 net profit per acre for grain only production. The only crop found to be more profitable was tobacco.

25. (Federal Law and DEA Control Over Hemp Production in the US) “In 1937, Congress passed the first federal law to discourage Cannabis production for marijuana while still permitting industrial uses of the crop (the Marihuana Tax Act; 50 Stat. 551). Under this statute, the government actively encouraged farmers to grow hemp for fiber and oil during World War II. After the war, competition from synthetic fibers, the Marihuana Tax Act, and increasing public anti-drug sentiment resulted in fewer and fewer acres of hemp being planted, and none at all after 1958.
“Strictly speaking, the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 (CSA, 21 U.S.C. §801 et. seq.) does not make growing hemp illegal; rather, it places strict controls on the production of hemp, making it illegal to grow the crop without a DEA permit.
“The CSA adopted the same definition of Cannabis sativa that appeared in the 1937 Marihuana Tax Act. The definition of “marihuana” (21 U.S.C. §802(16) reads:

The term marihuana means all parts of the plant Cannabis sativa L., whether growing or not; the
seeds thereof; the resin extracted from any part of such plant; and every compound, manufacture,
salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of such plant, its seeds or resin. Such term does not
include the mature stalks of such plant, fiber produced from such stalks, oil or cake made from
the seeds of such plant, any other compound … or preparation of such mature stalks (except the
resin extracted therefrom), fiber, oil, or cake, or the sterilized seed of such plant which is
incapable of germination.

“The statute thus retains control over all varieties of the cannabis plant by virtue of including them under the term ‘marijuana’ and does not distinguish between low- and high-THC varieties. The language exempts from control the parts of mature plants—stalks, fiber, oil, cake, etc. — intended for industrial uses. Some have argued that the CSA definition exempts industrial hemp under its term exclusions for stalks, fiber, oil and cake, and seeds.52 DEA refutes this interpretation.53
“Since federal law prohibits cultivation without a permit, DEA determines whether any industrial hemp production authorized under a state statute is permitted, and it enforces standards governing the security conditions under which the crop must be grown. In other words, a grower needs to get permission from the DEA to grow hemp or faces the possibility of federal charges or property confiscation, regardless of whether the grower has a state-issued permit.54

26. (Hemp Products and the DEA) In late 1999, during the development of the 2003 rules (described in the previous section), the DEA acted administratively to demand that the U.S. Customs Service enforce a zero-tolerance standard for the THC content of all forms of imported hemp, and hemp foods in particular.
“The DEA followed up, in October 2001, with publication of an interpretive rule in the Federal Register explaining the basis of its zero-tolerance standard.63 It held that when Congress wrote the statutory definition of marijuana in 1937, it ‘exempted certain portions of the Cannabis plant from the definition of marijuana based on the assumption (now refuted) that such portions of the plant contain none of the psychoactive component now known as THC.’ Both the proposed rule (which was published concurrently with the interpretive rule) and the final 2003 rule gave retailers of hemp foods a date after which the DEA could seize all such products remaining on shelves. On both rules, hemp trade associations requested and received court-ordered stays blocking enforcement of that provision. The DEA’s interpretation made hemp with any THC content subject to enforcement as a controlled substance.
“Hemp industry trade groups, retailers, and a major Canadian exporter filed suit against the DEA, arguing that congressional intent was to exempt plant parts containing naturally occurring THC at non-psychoactive levels, the same way it exempts poppy seeds containing trace amounts of naturally occurring opiates.64Industry groups maintain that (1) naturally occurring THC in the leaves and flowers of cannabis varieties grown for fiber and food is already at below-psychoactive levels (compared with drug varieties); (2) the parts used for food purposes (seeds and oil) contain even less; and (3) after processing, the THC content is at or close to zero. U.S. and Canadian hemp seed and food manufacturers have in place a voluntary program for certifying low, industry-determined standards in hemp-containing foods. Background information on the TestPledge Program is available athttp://www.TestPledge.com. The intent of the program is to assure that consumption of hemp foods will not interfere with workplace drug testing programs or produce undesirable mental or physical health effects.
“On February 6, 2004, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit permanently enjoined the enforcement of the final rule.65 The court stated that ‘the DEA’s definition of ‘THC’ contravenes the unambiguously expressed intent of Congress in the CSA and cannot be upheld.’66 In late September 2004 the Bush Administration let the final deadline pass without filing an appeal.”

27. (State Laws Regarding Hemp) “Beginning around 1995, an increasing number of state legislatures began to consider a variety of initiatives related to industrial hemp. Most of these have been resolutions calling for scientific, economic, or environmental studies, and some are laws authorizing planting experimental plots under state statutes. Nonetheless, the actual planting of hemp, even for state-authorized experimental purposes, remains regulated by the DEA under the Controlled Substances Act.
“A summary of current state legislative actions regarding industrial hemp, according to the advocacy organization Vote Hemp, is as follows (also see text box):79
“• Nine states have defined industrial hemp as distinct and removed barriers to its production (Colorado, Kentucky, Maine, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and West Virginia).
“• Three states have passed bills creating commissions or authorizing research (Hawaii, Kentucky, and Maryland).
“• Nine states have passed hemp resolutions (California, Colorado, Illinois, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Vermont, and Virginia).
“• Eight states have passed hemp study bills (Arkansas, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, and Vermont). (Some states have done studies without legislative directive.)
“Although several states have established programs under which a farmer may be able to grow industrial hemp under certain circumstances, a grower would still need to obtain a DEA permit and abide by the DEA’s strict production controls. This relationship has resulted in some high-profile cases, wherein growers have applied for a permit but DEA has not approved (or denied) a permit to grow hemp, even in states that authorize cultivation under state laws. Ongoing cases involve attempts to grow hemp under state law in North Dakota, Montana, Vermont, and other states. DEA permits to grow hemp have been issued to some university researchers and to the Hawaii Industrial Hemp Research Program.80
“Changes to Colorado’s state laws in November 2012 now allow for industrial hemp cultivation in small test plots, and industrial hemp is now reported as being grown in Colorado.81 Changes to Kentucky’s state laws in April 2013 might also soon allow for hemp to be grown in that state.”

28. (Controlled Substances Act) “The CSA [Controlled Substances Act] classifies marijuana in the first category of schedules, placing it among the most harmful and dangerous drugs.137 Marijuana meets the criteria for a Schedule I controlled substance because of its THC content, which is a psychoactive hallucinogenic substance with a high potential for abuse.138 Another key classification made by the CSA regarding marijuana was its broad definition of the drug.139 The CSA defines marijuana as follows:
“The term ‘“marihuana” means all parts of the plant Cannabis sativa L., whether growing or not; the seeds thereof; the resin extracted from any part of such plant; and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of such plant, its seeds or resin. Such term does not include the mature stalks of such plant, fiber produced from such stalks, oil or cake made from the seeds of such plant, any other compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of such mature stalks (except the resin extracted therefrom), fiber, oil, or cake, or the sterilized seed of such plant which is incapable of germination.140
“This effectively placed the entire use of the hemp plant, whether for drug use or as industrial hemp, squarely under the control of the CSA.141 Therefore, the DEA views industrial hemp containing .3% THC the same as marijuana grown for drug use which commonly contains a 24% THC level, or eighty times more THC.142”

Source:
Duppong, Thomas A., “Industrial Hemp: How the Classification of Industrial Hemp as Marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act Has Caused the Dream of Growing Industrial Hemp in North Dakota to Go up in Smoke,” North Dakota Law Review (Grand Forks, ND: University of North Dakota School of Law, 2009) Vol. 85, No. 2, p. 417-418.http://web.law.und.edu/LawReview/issues/web_assets/pdf/85-2/85NDLR403.pd…

29. “Legislative history suggests that Congress accepted the name Cannabis sativa L. for the hemp plant, believing it to be the common description within the scientific community.41 This categorization combined all marijuana-producing Cannabis plants.42 Therefore, any hemp plant capable of producing any amount of THC was classified as Cannabis sativa L. under the CSA.43”

Source:
Duppong, Thomas A., “Industrial Hemp: How the Classification of Industrial Hemp as Marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act Has Caused the Dream of Growing Industrial Hemp in North Dakota to Go up in Smoke,” North Dakota Law Review (Grand Forks, ND: University of North Dakota School of Law, 2009) Vol. 85, No. 2, p. 407.http://web.law.und.edu/LawReview/issues/web_assets/pdf/85-2/85NDLR403.pd…

30. (Countries Which Grow Hemp) “Approximately 30 countries in Europe, Asia, and North and South America currently permit farmers to grow hemp. Some of these countries never outlawed production, while some countries banned production for certain periods in the past. China is among the largest producing and exporting countries of hemp textiles and related products, as well as a major supplier of these products to the United States. The European Union (EU) has an active hemp market, with production in most member nations. Production is centered in France, the United Kingdom, Romania, and Hungary.36
“Acreage in hemp cultivation worldwide has been mostly flat to decreasing, reported at about 200,000 acres globally in 2011.37 Although variable year-to-year, global production has increased overall from about 250 million pounds in 1999 to more than 380 million pounds in 2011, mostly due to increasing production of hemp seed (Figure 2). Upward trends in global hemp seed production roughly track similar upward trends in U.S. imports of hemp seed and oil, mostly for use in hemp-based foods, supplements, and body care products (Table 1).
“Many EU countries lifted their bans on hemp production in the 1990s and, until recently, also subsidized the production of “flax and hemp” under the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy.38 EU hemp acreage was reported at about 26,000 acres in 2010, which was below previous years, when more than 50,000 acres of hemp were under production.39 Most EU production is of hurds, seeds, and fibers. Other non-EU European countries with reported hemp production include Russia, Ukraine, and Switzerland. Other countries with active hemp grower and/or consumer markets are Australia, New Zealand, India, Japan, Korea, Turkey, Egypt, Chile, and Thailand.40”

31. (Hemp and CBD) “Another chemical shared by both industrial hemp and marijuana is Cannabidiol (CBD).48 CBD is unique because it is not intoxicating and it also moderates the euphoric effect of THC.49 Marijuana, which has disproportionately higher levels of THC than industrial hemp, also contains lower levels of CBD.50 The higher THC and lower CBD concentration gives marijuana its psychoactive effect.51 Conversely, industrial hemp’s low THC levels and comparatively high CBD levels produce none of the intoxicating effects of marijuana.52”

Source:
Duppong, Thomas A., “Industrial Hemp: How the Classification of Industrial Hemp as Marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act Has Caused the Dream of Growing Industrial Hemp in North Dakota to Go up in Smoke,” North Dakota Law Review (Grand Forks, ND: University of North Dakota School of Law, 2009) Vol. 85, No. 2, p. 408.http://web.law.und.edu/LawReview/issues/web_assets/pdf/85-2/85NDLR403.pd…

32. (Hemp History) “From the colonial period through the middle of the nineteenth century, hemp was widely grown in the United States for use in fabric, twine, and paper.19 Production dropped by the 1890’s as technological advances made cotton a more competitive textile crop, and coarse fiber crops were increasingly imported. Nonetheless, American farmers continued to grow hemp into the middle of the twentieth century, finding it a useful rotation crop because it acted as a natural herbicide—a dense, rapidly growing crop, it choked out weeds prior to the next planting of corn and other crops.22 At the urging of the government, production to supply fiber for military purposes was expanded enormously during World War I and again during World War II, particularly after the Japanese cut off exports from the Philippines.”

33. (Hemp History) “Probably indigenous to temperate Asia, C. sativa is the most widely cited example of a “camp follower.” It was pre-adapted to thrive in the manured soils around man’s early settlements, which quickly led to its domestication (Schultes 1970). Hemp was harvested by the Chinese 8500 years ago (Schultes and Hofmann 1980). For most of its history, C. sativa was most valued as a fiber source, considerably less so as an intoxicant, and only to a limited extent as an oilseed crop. Hemp is one of the oldest sources of textile fiber, with extant remains of hempen cloth trailing back 6 millennia. Hemp grown for fiber was introduced to western Asia and Egypt, and subsequently to Europe somewhere between 1000 and 2000 BCE. Cultivation in Europe became widespread after 500 CE. The crop was first brought to South America in 1545, in Chile, and to North America in Port Royal, Acadia in 1606. The hemp industry flourished in Kentucky, Missouri, and Illinois between 1840 and 1860 because of the strong demand for sailcloth and cordage (Ehrensing 1998). From the end of the Civil War until 1912, virtually all hemp in the US was produced in Kentucky.”

Source:
Small, Ernest and Marcus, David , “Hemp: A New Crop with New Uses for North America,” Trends in New Crops and New Uses (West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University Center for New Crops and Plant Products, 2002), p. 284.http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/ncnu02/pdf/small.pdf

34. (History in American History) “Hemp was widely grown in the United States from the colonial period into the mid-1800s; fine and coarse fabrics, twine, and paper from hemp were in common use. By the 1890s, labor-saving machinery for harvesting cotton made the latter more competitive as a source of fabric for clothing, and the demand for coarse natural fibers was met increasingly by imports. Industrial hemp was handled in the same way as any other farm commodity, in that USDA compiled statistics and published crop reports,45 and provided assistance to farmers promoting production and distribution.46 In the early 1900s, hemp continued to be grown and researchers at USDA continued to publish information related to hemp production and also reported on hemp’s potential for use in textiles and in paper manufacturing.47 Several hemp advocacy groups, including the Hemp Industries Association (HIA) and Vote Hemp Inc., have compiled other historical information and have copies of original source documents.48
“Between 1914 and 1933, in an effort to stem the use of Cannabis flowers and leaves for their psychotropic effects, 33 states passed laws restricting legal production to medicinal and industrial purposes only.49 The 1937 Marihuana Tax Act defined hemp as a narcotic drug, requiring that farmers growing hemp hold a federal registration and special tax stamp, effectively limiting further production expansion.
“Hemp was briefly brought back into large-scale production during World War II, at the urging of USDA, to provide for ‘products spun from American-grown hemp’ including ‘twine of various kinds for tying and upholsters work; rope for marine rigging and towing; for hay forks, derricks, and heavy duty tackle; light duty fire hose; thread for shoes for millions of American soldiers; and parachute webbing for our paratroopers,’ as well as ‘hemp for mooring ships; hemp for tow lines; hemp for tackle and gear; hemp for countless naval uses both on ship and shore.’50
“In 1943, U.S. hemp production reached more than 150 million pounds (140.7 million pounds hemp fiber; 10.7 million pound hemp seed) on 146,200 harvested acres. This compared to pre-war production levels of about 1 million pounds. After reaching a peak in 1943, production started to decline. By 1948, production had dropped back to 3 million pounds on 2,800 harvested acres, with no recorded production after the late 1950s.51”

35. (Hemp in US History) “During World War I, some hemp cultivation occurred in several states, including Kentucky, Wisconsin, California, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Kansas, and Iowa (Ehrensing 1998). The second world war led to a brief revival of hemp cultivation in the Midwest, as well as in Canada, because the war cut off supplies of fiber (substantial renewed cultivation also occurred in Germany for the same reason). Until the beginning of the 19th century, hemp was the leading cordage fiber. Until the middle of the 19th century, hemp rivaled flax as the chief textile fiber of vegetable origin, and indeed was described as ‘the king of fiber-bearing plants,—the standard by which all other fibers are measured’ (Boyce 1900). Nevertheless, the Marihuana Tax Act applied in 1938 essentially ended hemp production in the United States, although a small hemp fiber industry continued in Wisconsin until 1958. Similarly in 1938 the cultivation of Cannabis became illegal in Canada under the Opium and Narcotics Act.”

Source:
Small, Ernest and Marcus, David , “Hemp: A New Crop with New Uses for North America,” Trends in New Crops and New Uses (West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University Center for New Crops and Plant Products, 2002), p. 284.http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/ncnu02/pdf/small.pdf

Words have meaning, and words we consider placing into our very Constitution must be particularly scrutinized and considered. The Constitution is a document intended to protect the rights of citizens, and to establish limitations on government’s reach.Prohibitionist profiteers would make New Approach Missouri’s (NAM’s) Toxic “Medical Marijuana” Proposal their cash cow, but how would NAM’s measure apply to most Missourians?
Under NAM’s measure, few Missourians would be able to afford to enter Missouri’s new elite “Medical Marijuana” industry. Per NAM’s proposed measure, the Dept. of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) would be granted total authority to subjectively refuse or grant facility licenses to enter the restricted “medical marijuana” industry.All Medical Marijuana Facility license applicants begin by paying a $3,000 non-refundable application fee (new non-refundable application fee required every 3 years.) If fortunate enough to then be granted a license, one then must additionally pay:
$20,000/year for a Cultivation Facility licensing fee;
$10,000/year for a Dispensary Facility licensing fee;
or $10,000/year for an Infused Product Manufacturing Facility licensing fee;
in addition to whatever other limitless fees and requirements DHSS imposes.Sections 3.(7), (8) and (9) and Sections 3.(1),(2) and (3)

Such fees, and the subjective granting of Facility licenses, would prohibit average Missourians from attempting to enter the new, profitable, “Medical Marijuana” industry. Of course the price of all NAM’s proposed Big Government “seed to sale” micromanagement of Medical Marijuana will ultimately be paid by the sick and dying patients in need of this non-toxic plant.Section 3.(7) thru (9), and the rest of the initiative.

The retail price of Medical Marijuana paid by qualifying patients would be without limit. Additionally, NAM’s proposal protects insurance companies from having to cover Medical Marijuana for qualifying patients.Section 7.(15)NAM’s proposed measure grants almost god-like authority to DHSS to create virtually limitless new rules, regulations, requirements, fees with regard to “Medical Marijuana” in Missouri, and limitless penalties for any infraction thereof.Section 3.(1),(2),and (3)

NAM’s measure permits no elected officials (Sheriff, Circuit Judge, MO Governor, or US President) to “interfere” in ANY way, “directly or indirectly” with DHSS’s authority regarding regulations and penalties DHSS cares to impose for any infraction of their virtually limitless “Medical Marijuana” rules. While NAM is pitching this proposed measure as if it protects the patients, it really protects and empowers DHSS, and keeps attorneys in business. NAM’s measure is largely focused on LIMITING citizens’ rights which is antithetical to the very purpose of our Constitution.Section 3.(22) and 7.(6.)

Qualifying Medical Marijuana patients could say bye-bye to their 2nd Amendment rights under NAM’s “medical marijuana” proposal. NAM’s proposal does not repudiate federal prohibition, even acknowledges supremacy of Federal law, and declares “Any information released related to patients may be used for purposes authorized by federal law.” Section 3.(4)
“Medical Marijuana” cards and databases of patient information could be used by the Bureaus of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) and the Department of Justice (DOJ).
DOJ & ATF have already declared “there are no exceptions in Federal law for marijuana purportedly used for medicinal purposes, even if such use is sanctioned by State law.” Medical Marijuana qualified patients will be prohibited from legally possessing firearms or ammunition.Open Letter from DOJ to all Federal Firearms Licensees

Nothing in NAM’s measure curtails Missouri state funds or Missouri law enforcement personnel from assisting in enforcing federal prohibitions; in fact, their proposed measure acknowledges and concedes to supremacy of federal law (Section 7.(13)), as well as that “any court of competent jurisdiction” can adjudge any section or application of this measure to be entirely invalid; potentially voiding their initiative entirely.Section 8.

Any appeal or denial of license or medical card would be subject to “judicial review as provided by law” of which federal law still prohibits. Additionally, DHSS would be Constitutionally protected from any elected judge’s rulings, per the wording of NAM’s Constitutional Amendment.
Section 3.(21)

NAM’s proposal does not permit any eligible patient to “operate, navigate, or be in actual physical control of any dangerous device or motor vehicle, aircraft, or motorboat while ‘under the influence of marijuana;’”NOTE: “under the influence” remains undefined, thus ANY eligible patient, who has simply consumed their “Medical Marijuana” in the last month or week, may be prosecuted and convicted for operating “under the influence” per what NAM wants to put in the Missouri Constitution.Section 7.(1)(c)NAM’s proposal would not permit a qualifying “Medical Marijuana” patient to file a lawsuit against any employer for discrimination or wrongful termination. Merely being an approved “Medical Marijuana” patient may be just cause for termination without recourse. They want to put that into the Missouri Constitution.Section 7.(1)(d)If an “eligible patient” consumes their “Medical Marijuana” in a public place, sanctions would be provided by current “general law.” The term “consume” is undefined. General law still considers considers cannabis possession to be criminal activity (certainly defiant to federal law), so NAM’s proposal puts into the Constitution that such prohibitions still apply. Nothing in this measure stops Missouri law enforcement from enforcing federal prohibition. Section 7.(8)For an eligible patient to grow their own cannabis for their own medical needs, they must:1. Be certified by a physician to do so (doctor office visit, with physician willing to prescribe.)2. Pay for a $25/annual ID card3. Pay the $100/year annual personal cultivation license fee.4. Have an enclosed, locked facility equipped with whatever security devices DHSS decides to require.5. Pay whatever other fees DHSS comes up with, which may be limitless6. Purchase up to 6 already “flowering” plants from a Medical Marijuana Dispensary Facility ($$$).Yet that “eligible patient”, after paying their personal cultivation extra annual licensing fee, and meeting all those requirements will be Constitutionally prohibited from extracting the healing resins for themselves unless they pay the dispensary license ($3,000 additional non-refundable application fee to be submitted every 3 years, plus $10,000/year licensing fee)Any infraction of patient cultivation requirements is subject to limitless penalties.
It will be cost-prohibitive for most cancer patients to “grow their own” medication, as they are prohibited from cultivating sufficient quantities, as well as prohibited from legally extracting the healing oils or resins for themselves. The people this “up to 6 plants” limitation benefit, are those who simply want to smoke it.

Section 7.(13) of NAM’s proposal is particularly nefarious, proposing to Constitutionally protect Big Pharma by requiring that at least 75% of all physician prescriptions be for pharmaceutical medications other than cannabis……….This^ does NOT belong in our Constitution!!!Section 7(15) of NAM’s proposal Constitutionally protects insurance companies from having to cover “Medical Marijuana”Section 7(16) of NAM’s proposal purports that any violation of DHSS’s limitless rules they can enact with regard to “Medical Marijuana” may be subject to asset forfeiture.Section 8. Of NAM’s proposal suggests any part or all of their measure can be “adjudged invalid by ANY court of competent jurisdiction,” which potentially and readily negates the entire measure, as any federal court will adjudicate that “marijuana” remains a Schedule 1 Controlled Substance, and is federally prohibited.If you care to examine a more detailed critique of New Approach Missouri’s Measure, please examine Toxic Proposals: https://patinthehat00.wordpress.com/2016/01/11/missouri-petition-analysis-2016/

World Study

If you find this BIG GOVERNMENT takeover of the “medical marijuana industry” to be an overt assault on what should be your Constitutional right to the miraculous, nutritious and non-toxic plant that is cannabis, please contact us at Hempeneers.com. We have a much better solution to restore this plant to we-the-people, without granting profiteers and Big Government excessive profits, at the price of people in need.Please, join the movement.It’s time to bring the discussion to our families, friends, businesses, churches, and communities, and return this plant to We-the-People

44 Deaths from Prescription Opioid Overdose Daily

Every day in the United States, 44 people die as a result of prescription opioid overdose.

Among those who died from prescription opioid overdose between 1999 and 2013:
Most were ages 25 to 54.
This age group had the highest overdose rates compared to other age groups. However, the overdose rate for adults aged 55–64 increased more than seven-fold during this same time period.
The large majority were non-Hispanic whites.
The age-adjusted rate of prescription painkiller overdose deaths among non-Hispanic white persons increased 4.3 times, from 1.6 per 100,000 in 1999 to 6.8 per 100,000 in 2013.

The rates more than doubled for non-Hispanic black persons, from 0.9 per 100,000 in 1999 to 2.5 per 100,000 in 2013.

The rates increased only slightly for Hispanic persons, from 1.7 per 100,000 in 1999 to 2.1 per 100,000 in 2013.

The rates for American Indian or Alaska Natives increased almost four fold from 1.3 per 100,000 in 1999 to 5.1 per 100,000 in 2013.

Men were more likely to die from prescription opioid overdose, but the mortality gap between men and women is closing.

Deaths from prescription painkiller overdoses among women increased more than 400% during 1999–2010, compared to 237% among men.

Prescription Opioid Painkillers and the Epidemic of Drug Abuse and Overdose
Drug overdose was the leading cause of injury death in 2013. Among people 25 to 64 years old, drug overdose caused more deaths than motor vehicle traffic crashes.
There were 43,982 drug overdose deaths in the United States in 2013. Of these, 22,767 (51.8%) were related to prescription drugs.